Curtain wall insulation systems are commonly used to insulate adjacent floors of buildings that include curtain wall structures. In particular, the curtain wall insulation systems are used to provide thermal insulation and to inhibit the spread of fire from one floor to an upper adjacent floor through perimeter voids between an edge of a floor slab and the exterior building structure, which is sometimes referred to as the safing slot area.
A curtain wall structure is a non-load bearing type of exterior wall system that is utilized on buildings, such as high-rise buildings. The curtain wall structures generally utilize lightweight materials and often include metal skins. Conventional curtain wall structures include vertical framing members, referred to as mullions, and horizontal framing members, referred to as transoms. The mullions and transoms are typically hollow box-shaped members formed of aluminum. Curtain wall structures also include spandrel panels to provide an exterior facing thereof and are commonly made of glass, aluminum, thin sheets of foam material, and the like. Some curtain wall structures may also include an interior panel, commonly referred to as a backpan, that spans the area between the mullions and transoms and is recessed from the interior facing surfaces of the mullions and transoms to accommodate curtain wall insulation.
Curtain wall insulation systems generally include insulation that covers the aluminum mullions (mullion covers) to protect the mullions from direct exposure to extreme heat conditions such as during a fire, which could otherwise cause the mullions to soften, or even melt, and lose structural integrity. Mullion covers are typically installed using spiral anchors, cup head weld pins, or oversized vertical hangers with cooperating locking washers. Spiral anchors and cup head weld pins require the installer to use electric tools, such as a power drill or a capacitor discharge stud welder, to install the mullion covers. Vertical hangers with cooperating locking washers require the installer to press the mullion cover over the hangers, which cause the hangers to impale and extend through the mullion cover, and to secure the mullion cover to the hanger by placing a locking washer over the portion of the hanger that extends through the mullion cover. These means for installing mullions cover are inefficient with respect to the installer's time, and impractical for installing mullion covers in tight or otherwise obstructed spaces where an electric tool or an installer cannot easily gain access.